This chapter aims to describe the research approach and the framework used in the study. The first part o f the discussion will be dedicated to the diversity o f research methodology commonly encountered in the literature. This is followed by a description o f the triangulation concept that is used in this research. This research relies on the case study approach and therefore a review of case study research will be brought into the discussion. Finally, the data sources used will be described.
2.1. Management Research Perspective
There is a long-standing argument about the most appropriate philosophical position from which management research methods should be derived; positivism or phenomenology. Easterby-Smith et al. (1997) argue that “the key idea o f positivism is that the social world exists externally, and that its properties should be measured through objective methods, rather that being inferred subjectively through sensation, reflection or intuition”. It seeks facts or causes of social phenomena, with little regard to the subjective state of the individual. Therefore “logical reasoning is applied to the research so that precision, objectivity and rigour replace hunches, experience and intuition as the means o f investigating research problems” (Hussey et al. (1997)).
Positivism is founded on the belief that the study o f human behaviour should be conducted in the same mode as the study o f the natural sciences. It is based on two assumptions, firstly reality is independent o f us and exists regardless o f whether we are aware o f it and secondly, that knowledge is only o f significance if it is based on observations o f this external reality. Thus, this approach serves primarily to test a theory, in an attempt to develop an understanding o f that phenomenon. Hussey et al.
(1997) outline the positivistic features as using quantitative data, large samples, hypothesis testing, data is highly specific and precise, reliability is high and it is possible to generalise from sample to population.
In contrast with the positivist, there is another school o f thought: namely the phenomenological. According to Hussey et a l (1997), the phenomenological methodology developed as a result o f criticisms o f the positivistic methodology. The main criticisms o f the positivistic methodology as described by Hussey et al. (1997) are as follows:
• It is impossible to treat people as separate from their social contexts and they cannot be understood without examining the perceptions they have o f their own activities;
• A highly structured research design imposes certain constraints on the results and may ignore more relevant and interesting findings;
• Researchers are not objective, but part o f what they observe. They bring their own interests and values to the research;
• Capturing complex phenomena in a single measure is, at best, misleading. For example, is it possible to assign a numerical value to a person’s intelligence?
Cited from Hussey et al. (1997)
Phenomenology is known as the science o f phenomena. Some researchers label it as qualitative approach. A phenomenon is a ‘fact or occurrence that appears or is perceived, especially one of which the cause is in question’ (Allen (1990)). It is concerned with understanding human behaviour from a participant’s own frame o f reference. The key features o f the phenomenological methodology, as described by authors including Easterby-Smith et al. (1997), Gill et al. (1997), Hussey et al.
(1997), Saunders et al. (2000), are summarised as;
• Using qualitative data;
• Uses multiple methods to establish different views o f phenomena; • Uses small samples; investigated in depth or over time;
• Concerned with generating theories - develops ideas through induction o f data.
The research presented in this thesis comes into the phenomenological category. It will be based on methods associated primarily with qualitative data, as the research is concerned with ‘how’ and ‘why’ of WCM. ‘How’ is associated with the way to improve the manufacturing performance and practice and ‘w hy’ is to find out why one method works for a particular company type but not for another. In particular, the research looks at why some methods work for the MTO sector rather than the MTS sector. Multiple methods are used to establish different views o f phenomena in the
research. Some authors including Denzin (1970), Easterby-Smith et al. (1997), Gill et al. (1997), describe this approach as triangulation. Triangulation refers to the combination o f methodologies in the study o f the same phenomenon. Easterby-Smith
et al. (1997) categorised triangulation into triangulation o f theories, triangulation of data, triangulation by investigators and methodological triangulation as follows:
• Triangulation o f theories means borrowing a theory or model from one discipline and using them to explain phenomenon in another discipline; • Data triangulation is where data is collected at different time frames or
from different sources to explain the phenomenon;
• Triangulation by investigators is where data is collected by different people on the same phenomenon and the results are then compared;
• Methodological triangulation is where the researcher uses both qualitative (inductive) and quantitative (deductive) techniques including questionnaires, interviews, telephone surveys and field studies.
The triangulation used in this study is “methodological triangulation”, a mixture of deductive theory development and the inductive approach in which the data is used to inform the theory and to develop the theory further through case study research. The following section discusses in detail the triangulation methodology used in this study.
2.2. Methodological Triangulation
There are good reasons for using different methodologies in the same study. One o f the reasons is that the use o f different methods to study the same phenomenon can lead to greater validity and reliability than a single methodological approach. Gills et al. (1997) argue that “multiple and independent methods ..., if reaching the same conclusions, have greater validity and reliability than a single methodological approach to the problem”. It strengthens qualitative research findings by combining interviews, documentary sources and participant observation (Hammersley and Atkinson, 1983). Abrahamson (1983) points out that this kind o f research “prevents the research becoming method-bound: the strength o f almost every measure is flawed in some way or other, and therefore research design and strategies can be offset by counterbalancing strength from one another”. Triangulation has fundamental strengths, persuades productive research, enhances qualitative methods and allows complementary use o f quantitative methods (Jick (1979)).
2.2.1. Deductive VS inductive
In this study the triangulation (the mixture o f deductive and inductive) approach is used in the research as described in the next section. The deductive research method is concerned with the development o f a conceptual method and theoretical structure prior to its testing through empirical observation. In using this method, the researcher will first need to start with a concept or framework, utilising existing theory, and then test the adequacy o f the framework as a means to explain findings. “If the pattern of
the data matches that which has been predicted through the conceptual framework you will have found an explanation” (Saunders (2000)).
In this research the initial WCM MTO model is developed using the deductive approach. The model was developed using evidence from the literature and the author’s experience, to determine the issues which were relevant to the MTO sector.
As illustrated in figure 2.1 to the left hand side o f the Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, the work began with abstract conceptualisation and then moved on to applying the concepts in new situations so as to create new experiences or observation.
Figure 2.1: Deductive vs. Inductive Research (Based on K o lb ’s experiental learning cycle, 1979)